Two scientists have won the 2012 Nobel Prize in physics for their pioneering work in quantum optics, a field that manipulates light and matter to measure very precise properties of single particles.
The Nobel committee awarded the prize October 9 to Serge Haroche, of the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, and David Wineland, of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo. The two were cited for related but independent work: Haroche bounces light particles between mirrors to probe their quantum states, and Wineland creates traps for charged atoms and shoots in laser light to control those particles.
Discoveries based on those experiments have already been used to develop ultra-accurate atomic clocks and could eventually lead to the development of quantum computers much faster and more secure than existing electron-based technology.